The Golden Age of Piracy
The Golden Age of Piracy took place between the 1650's to the 1730's, during a time when piracy was at an all-time high. It can be broken up into three separate periods: # The Buccaneering Period: 1650-1680 # The Pirate Round: 1690-1700 # The Post-Spanish Succession: 1716-1726 Many factors contributed to the Golden Age of Piracy. Perhaps the biggest factor was how seamen of the era where treated. Most worked in deplorable conditions, ate rotten food, wore poorly tailored clothing, and received very little compensation. It was not uncommon for Naval captains to receive a ridiculous 14 shares to the crew's single share. This treatment coupled with a rise in valuable cargoes being shipped to Europe across unprotected oceans, a reduction in Naval presence in certain areas, and ineffective colonial governments inspired many of these mistreated sailors to use their training and experience sailing with European Navies to rise up against those that oppressed them. History ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Origin hi mention of The Golden Age of Piracy comes from English Journalist George Powell, who in 1894 wrote, "what appears to have been the golden age of piracy up to the last decade of the seventeenth century."George Powell, "A Pirate's Paradise," The Gentleman's Magazine, vol. CCLXXVI, N.S. 52, Jan-June 1894, p. 23. Powell used the phrase only once while reviewing Charles Leslie's A New and Exact History of Jamaica, ''a then 150 year old text referring primarily to events of the 1660's. 1897 gave birth to more systemic use of the phrase when it was introduced by John Fiske in ''Old Virginia and Her Neighbors, ''who wrote, "At no other time in the world's history has the business of piracy thriven so greatly as in the seventeenth century and the first part of the eighteenth. Its golden age may be said to have extended from about 1650 to about 1720."John Fiske, 1897, ''Old Virginia and Her Neighbors, p. 338. While the beginning and end dates of this Golden Age are often disputed by historians, the broadest range is around 1650-1730 including it's decline. The Buccaneering Period, 1650-1680 French Buccaneers established themselves in Northern Hispaniola as early as 1625. They started out as hunters rather than robbers. Their transition into full-time pirates was a gradual one, largely influenced by Spanish efforts to eradicate not only the prey animals that they depended on, but the Buccaneers themselves. The Buccaneers migrated from Hispaniola to the offshore island of Tortuga, which was more defensible but had little in the way of resources. This lack of resources was the driving force behind the piratical raids that followed. According to buccaneer and historian Alexandre Exquemelin, it was Pierre Le Grande that led the first attacks against Spanish Galleons returning to Spain. The growth of buccaneering on Tortuga continued to flourish and was aided even further after the English capture of Jamaica from Spain in 1655. The early English governors of Jamaica freely granted letters of marque to Tortuga buccaneers and to their own countrymen. The growth of Port Royal provided these raiders with a far more profitable and enjoyable place to sell their booty. In the 1660s, the new French governor of Tortuga, Bertrand d'Ogeron, similarly provided privateering commissions both to his own colonists and to English cutthroats from Port Royal. These conditions brought Caribbean buccaneering to its zenith. The Pirate Round, 1693-1700 The Pirate Round was a sailing route followed by certain Anglo-American pirates, mainly during the late 17th century. The course led from the western Atlantic, around the southern tip of Africa, stopping at Madagascar, then on to targets such as the coast of Yemen and India. The Pirate Round was briefly used again during the early 1720s. Pirates who followed the route are sometimes referred to as Roundsmen. The Pirate Round was largely co-extensive with the routes of the East India Company ships, of Britain and other nations. A number of factors caused these Anglo-American pirates to look beyond the Caribbean for treasure to plunder. The collapse of the collaboration between English Jamaica and French Tortuga, the devastation of Port Royal due to an earthquake in 1692, the disregard of policies and treaties by colonial governors; all influencing factors that led these pirates to seek riches outside the Caribbean. The Post-Spanish Succession, 1716-1726 Between 1713-1714 a succession of peace treaties were signed thus ending the War of the Spanish Succession (Also known as Queen Anne's War). With conflict at an end, thousands of seamen and privateers were relieved of military service. This resulted in a large body of able-bodied and trained sailors standing idly by, without work. Pirate captains saw an opportunity; a wealth of trained men to which they could convince to turn pirate with promises of riches, fair wages, and an equal vote in shipboard matters. In 1715, pirates launched a major raid on Spanish divers attempting to recover gold from a sunken treasure galleon near the coast of Florida. The pirate force consisted of a group of ex-privateers, all of whom would soon be enshrined in infamy: Henry Jennings, Charles Vane, 'Black Sam' Bellamy, Benjamin Hornigold, and Edward England. The attack was successful, however, the governor of Jamaica refused to allow Jennings and their cohorts to spend their loot on his island. With Kingston and Port Royal closed to them, Hornigold and his comrades founded a new pirate stronhold at Nassau, on the island of New Providence in the Bahamas. Until the arrival of governor Woodes Rogers three years later, Nassau would become home for these pirates and their many recruits. The Decline By the early 18th century, tolerance for privateers was wearing thin in all nations. After the Treaty of Utrecht was signed, the excess of trained sailors without employment was both a blessing and a curse for all pirates. Initially the surplus of men had caused the number of pirates to multiply significantly. This inevitably led to the pillaging of more ships, which put a greater strain on trade for all European nations. In response European nations bolstered their own navies to offer greater protection for merchants and to hunt down pirates. The excess of skilled sailors meant there was a large pool that could be recruited into national navies as well. Piracy was clearly on a strong decline by 1720. The Golden Age of Piracy did not last the decade. Pirates of the Golden Age ______________________________________________________________________________________________ * Alexandre Exquemelin - a French, Dutch or Flemish writer/buccaneer best known as the author of one of the most important sourcebooks of 17th-century piracy, first published in Dutch as De Americaensche Zee-Roovers, in Amsterdam, by Jan ten Hoorn, in 1678. * Anne Bonnie - An Irish woman who became a famous pirate, operating in the Caribbean. Bonny developed a notorious reputation in Nassau and when she was unable to leave an earlier marriage, eloped with her lover, Calico Jack Rackham. * Bartholomew 'Black Bart' Roberts - A Welsh pirate who raided ships off the Americas and West Africa between 1719 and 1722. He was the most successful pirate of the Golden Age of Piracy as measured by vessels captured, taking over 470 prizes in his career.Rediker, Marcus (2004) Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates in the Golden Age. Beacon Press. ISBN 0-8070-5025-3 * Benjamin Hornigold - An 18th-century English pirate who operated during the tail end of the Golden Age of Piracy. His career lasted from 1715 until 1718, after which he became a pirate hunter and pursued his former allies on behalf of the Governor of the Bahamas. He was killed when his ship was wrecked on a reef during the hurricane season of 1719. * Chrales Vane - A particularly violent and unrepentant pirate, Vane served under Henry Jennings before striking out on his own. Harsh and unpopular with his crew, Vane was marooned before being captured and hanged in 1721. * Edward England - A famous African coast and Indian Ocean pirate captain from 1717 to 1720. The ships he sailed on included the ''Pearl'' (which he renamed The Royal James) and later the Fancy, for which England exchanged the Pearl in 1720. His flag was that of the classic Jolly Roger — almost exactly as 'Black Sam' Bellamy used — with a skull above two crossed bones on a black background.a famous African coast and Indian Ocean pirate captain from 1717 to 1720. The ships he sailed on included the Pearl (which he renamed The Royal James) and later the Fancy, for which England exchanged the Pearl in 1720. His flag was the classic Jolly Roger — almost exactly as Black Sam Bellamy used — with a skull above two crossed bones on a black background. * Edward Low - A notorious English pirate during the early 18th century. He was born around 1690 into poverty in Westminster, London, and was a thief from an early age. Low moved to Boston, Massachusetts, as a young man. His wife died in childbirth in late 1719. Two years later, he became a pirate, operating off the coasts of New England and the Azores, and in the Caribbean. He had a reputation for violently torturing his victims before killing them."London and the Pirates", PortCities, 2004. Retrieved 2007-09-25 * Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach - Active from 1716 to 1718 as perhaps the most notorious pirate among English-speaking nations. Blackbeard's most famous ship was the ''Queen Anne's Revenge'', named in response to the end of Queen Anne's War. Blackbeard was killed by one of Lieutenant Robert Maynard's crewmen in 1718 off the shores of Ocracoke Island, North Carolina * Henry Avery - Most famous for being one of the few major pirate captains to retire with his loot without being arrested or killed in battle, and also for capturing the fabulously wealthy Mogul ship Ganj-i-Sawai in 1694. He is also thought to have created the first democracy, and the pirate republic known as Libertalia. * Henry Jennings - An 18th-century British privateer, who served primarily during the War of Spanish Succession and later served as leader of the pirate haven or 'republic' of New Providence. * Henry Morgan - A buccaneer who raided the Spaniards and once took the city of Panama. He was to be executed in England but was instead knighted and made governor of Jamaica. He died a natural death in 1688. * John 'Calico Jack' Rackham - An English pirate captain operating in the Bahamas and in Cuba during the early 18th century. Most famous for his partnership with female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read, was captured, then hanged and gibbeted outside Port Royal, Jamaica in 1720. * Mary Read - a.k.a. Mark Read, was an English pirate. She and Anne Bonny are two of the most famed female pirates of all time; they are the only two women known to have been convicted of piracy during the early 18th century, at the height of the Golden Age of Piracy. * Pierre Le Grande - a French buccaneer of the 17th century. He is known to history only from one source, Alexandre Exquemelin's Buccaneers of America, and may be imaginary. * Samuel 'Black Sam' Bellamy - Bellamy was popularly known as the "Robin Hood of pirates," and prided himself on his ideological justifications for piracy. * Stede Bonnet - a rich Barbadian land owner, turned pirate solely in search of adventure. Bonnet captained a 10-gun sloop, named the Revenge, raiding ships off the Virginia coast in 1717. He was caught and hanged in 1718. * William Fly - An English pirate who raided New England shipping fleets for three months in 1726 until he was captured by the crew of a seized ship. He was hanged in Boston, Massachusetts and his body publicly exhibited as a warning to other pirates. His death is considered by many to mark the end of the Golden Age of Piracy. * William 'Captain' Kidd - a Scottish sailor who was tried and executed for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean. Some modern historians deem his piratical reputation unjust, as there is evidence that Kidd acted only as a privateer. References ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Category:History (past)